Weight without a wetsuit

[RonFrank]

I have put your specific measurements through the discombobator, and you need 6.2 lbs! Heh, what a load.

You need to do a weight check. You will likely have AL80's as that is very common on both coasts. You will need between 0-12bs of lead. If you do a weight check with a full tank add 6lbs for your air. This assumes an AL80 -1.8 full.

Here is something else you need.

Neo Sport 3/2mm Neoprene Mens Jumpsuit,

You can rent but rental wetsuits are generally in poor shape and yuck! For $80 You may save $50 renting, not much.

I think if your diving wear a suit. I've seen everything from bad sunburns to fire coral rashes to jelly fish stings to coral cuts. All of it would have been prevented if the diver would wear a 3/2mm full-suit.

 

[ed.hamilton1]

So long as you go diving with reputable company with a good dive leader they should be able to size you up pretty well and probably ere on the side of overweighting you on your first dive at the end of which you can perform a buoyancy check and then you will set up for the rest of your dives.

I would also agree with Ron that exposure protection is a good idea in tropical salt water environments as there are plenty of things which can lead to a less enjoyable dive and even in warm water after 40 minutes it can get cold. I would say that so long as your with a good dive shop there exposure suits are likely to be in a good condition if not there will be plenty of dive shops around and in our case we are able to get our customers a 40% discount so it could be much cheaper also.

And under absolutely no circumstances take your own weights I recently had to pay overweight baggage charges and it was not cheap and I have never been to a dive shop who did not provide them for free.

 

[KHedahl]

All great advice, thank you very much everyone. I typed the message up fast at work and missed a couple things. Yes, I'll be doing a bouyancy check prior to the dive. However, I wasn't sure where to even start on weight and I have a good range to start with now. I was only thinking of a wetsuit as cold protection, not as critter/sun protection. Thank you very much for that bit of advice! Off to work and then onto a plane later today. Happy diving everyone.

 

[RonFrank]

Here is the website for Divers Direct. They have locations in Key Largo and Lauderdale among other FL locations. Always a fun store for a diver to visit and they usually have clearance wetsuits as well....

Stop into one of our Florida Dive Shops for great deals on Top Brand Name Scuba Gear.